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☆ Russia vows retaliation for Ukraine's 'terrorist attack' on Crimean Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday what it called Ukraine's "terrorist attack" on the Crimean Bridge, saying it put innocent civilians' lives at risk, and vowed retaliation. "There can be no justification for such barbaric actions and they will not go unanswered," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Earlier, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian rocket attack on the 12-mile (19 km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia across the Kerch Strait. The ministry said Russian forces had also shot down a number of Ukrainian drones targeting the peninsula. Reporting by Gareth Jones; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Foreign, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Kerch

☆ Ukraine Makes Progress Along 2 Lines of Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Marc Santora | More About Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After months of grueling advances through minefields, small villages and open steppes, Ukrainian forces are making some progress along two major lines of attack, according to analysts, Ukrainian officials and Russian military bloggers. The advances, while small in terms of territory taken, are compelling Moscow to redeploy forces, military analysts say. Ukraine is trying to reach the Sea of Azov and drive a wedge into Russian-occupied territory. Explosions again echoed at the bridge on Saturday, as the Russian military said it had thwarted a missile attack. The Russian account could not be independently confirmed, and Ukrainian officials had no immediate comments on the episode.

Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Azov, Crimean, Russia, Kerch

☆ Russia says it thwarts Ukrainian rocket attack on Crimean Bridge, downs drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that Ukraine had tried unsuccessfully to strike the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait with S-200 rockets, but that no damage or casualties had been caused. The 12-mile (19-km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia, has come under repeated attack from Ukrainian forces since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. "The Ukrainian missile was detected in a timely manner and was intercepted in the air by Russian air defence systems. Separately, Russian forces destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula earlier on Saturday, Russia's Defence Ministry said. It was not immediately clear what was targeted in those reported attacks on the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Persons: Sergei Aksyonov, Vladimir Putin, Lidia Kelly, Felix, Gareth Jones, William Mallard, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Russia's Defence, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia's Defence Ministry, Reuters, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kerch, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow

Two Ukrainian missiles were shot down on Saturday afternoon, the Russia-appointed Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov wrote in a post on Telegram, adding that the bridge was undamaged. “Another enemy missile was shot down over the Kerch Strait. Meanwhile, traffic has resumed on the Crimean bridge, according to the Crimean bridge operative information Telegram account, after it was temporarily blocked. The Kremlin was quick to blame Kyiv for that explosion, and Putin alleged that it was an act of “sabotage” by Ukrainian security services. The bridge was also hit by two strikes in July in an attack a Ukrainian security official told CNN Kyiv was responsible for.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, ” “, Maria Zakharova, ” Zakharova, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vasyl Maliuk, ” Maliuk, ” Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, Kyiv, CNN Kyiv, Ukrainian Security Service Locations: Crimea, Russia, Kerch, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine doesn't have much of a navy, but it's found a way to hunt down the 'weakest links' in Russia's critical sea supply lanes, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian drones are attacking Russian ships and tankers, wrecking critical sea supply lanes. It's the latest incident involving Ukrainian sea drones hitting vital Russian naval targets, weakening sea supply lanes and proving Kyiv to be a scrappy, formidable naval force while lacking an actual fleet beyond some patrol boats. "The attacks show that USV operations are increasingly a major component of modern naval warfare and can be turned against the weakest links of Russia's sea supply lanes," the UK intel update said. Ukraine has made the development of sea drones a priority, even crowdfunding for what they call "the formation of the world's first naval fleet of drones." An expert previously told Insider the remotely operated, cheap-but-effective waterborne drones give Ukraine an "asymmetric advantage," stressing Russian defenses and resources.

Persons: Sig, Ukraine's USVs Organizations: UK intel, Kyiv, Service, Ukraine, UK Ministry of Defense, intel Locations: Russian, Kerch, UK, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Syria, Ukraine

☆ Watch: Ukrainian Drone Attacks Russian Oil Tanker in Kerch Strait
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How This Virginia Aquaculture Farm Raises Four Million Oysters for MarketWard Oyster Co. is one of the largest cage oyster farms on the East Coast, selling 4 million oysters and tens of millions of larvae each year. But it takes years for oysters to mature, and in that time, a lot can go wrong. Photo: Graham Copeland

Persons: Graham Copeland Locations: Virginia, East Coast

A Ukrainian naval drone hit a Russian oil tanker early Saturday off the occupied Crimean Peninsula, the second Ukrainian sea drone attack to strike Russian ships in the Black Sea in two days, Ukrainian and Russian officials said. The engine room of the tanker was damaged, but the ship remained afloat, there was no oil spillage and no crew members were injured, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport said on its Telegram channel. Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, said Ukraine was responsible for the attack and that Kyiv’s forces would continue to attack any ship assisting in the Russian war effort. The tanker was near the Kerch Strait Bridge, a vital connection for Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Mr. Malyuk said Ukraine would continue attacking the bridge until Russian forces completely withdraw from Ukrainian lands.

Persons: Vasyl Malyuk, Malyuk Organizations: Russia’s Federal Agency for, Inland Water Transport, Security Service Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimean, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea, Ukraine, Kerch, Russia

☆ Ukrainian drone carrying 450 kg of TNT slams into Russian oil tanker day after Russian warship was attacked
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian maritime drone struck a Russian oil tanker on Saturday. It came a day after another naval drone attack on a Russian warship. The strike came after another drone strike on Friday badly damaged a Russian warship in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. A Russian official also claimed Saturday that a Ukrainian drone was spotted and subsequently destroyed in the waters outside Sevastopol, the Crimean port city home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet. He noted that Ukraine was likely using a recently unveiled model of naval drone that Ukraine claims can strike targets 500 miles away.

Persons: Stephen Wright, Wright Organizations: Service, Fleet, BBC, TNT, Financial Times Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Kerch, Azov, Novorossiysk, Sevastopol, Crimean, Russia, Odesa, Crimea, Moscow

The Russian-flagged ship, the Sig, was hit by a drone carrying 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT shortly before midnight, according to a Ukraine Security Service source. Ukrainian officials, however, said some crew were injured and that the tanker was carrying fuel for the Russian military. The strike on the Sig came just hours after Ukrainian sea drones targeted a major naval base in Novorossiysk, a coastal city on the Black Sea that is home to Russia’s largest port by volume of cargo handled. Ukraine has stepped up its attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles in recent weeks, hitting targets well within Russian territory, including in Moscow. The new generation of powerful sea drones, however, could open up a new front for Kyiv in the 18-month conflict.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vasyl Maliuk, ” Maliuk Organizations: Ukraine CNN, TNT, Ukraine Security Service, Federal Agency for Marine, Transport, CNN, Sig, Kyiv, Russia’s Defense Ministry Ukrainian, Ukrainian Security Service, Service, Security Service Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Novorossiysk, Russian, Moscow, Kerch, Russia, Crimea, Feodosia, ”, reticence

Kyiv, Ukraine CNN —Ukraine said it had carried out a sea drone attack on a Russian naval base, as dramatic videos appeared to show a damaged Russian warship listing heavily in the Black Sea early Friday. Novorossiysk, near the Russian city of Krasnodar, is one of Russia’s largest ports and is a base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. “Therefore, the presence of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, and with it – #Moscow’s traditional blackmail will be put to an end. Black Sea strikesUkraine has previously targeted Russian naval assets in the Black Sea. As Ukraine’s sea drone program has developed, it has increasingly allowed the military to attack and surveil Russia’s fleet in the Black Sea and on the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Persons: Gornyak, Mykhailo Podolyak, ” Podolyak, ”, Veniamin Kondratiev, Oleg Kryuchkov, Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, surveil, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ” Zelensky Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, CNN, TNT, “, Security Service, Ukrainian Navy, Fleet, Russian, RIA Novosti, Novorossiysk “, Union, “ Cargo Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukraine CNN — Ukraine, Russian, Novorossiysk, Ukrainian, Krasnodar, Russia, Crimea, Crimean, Kerch, Kremlin, Moscow, “ Ukraine

☆ Blasts in Crimea, pro-Russia officials report Ukraine drone attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Other pro-Russian officials in occupied areas of Ukraine said the explosions were linked to an attack by Ukrainian drones. Some reports said a tanker sailing under a Russian flag sustained damage. Traffic was halted on the bridge in the early morning, the third such stop in the past 24 hours. "Once again, there was no direct attack on the Crimea bridge and there was no explosion in the immediate vicinity," Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russia-installed governor of Crimea was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. Both Ukrainian news reports and pro-Russian officials in occupied parts of Ukraine said Ukrainian drones had attacked a tanker vessel in the Kerch Strait operating under a Russian flag and identified as the SIG.

Persons: Read, Oleg Kryuchkov, Vladimir Rogov, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Grant McCool Organizations: SIG, Thomson Locations: Crimea, Crimean, Kerch, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Syria, Zaporizhzhia, Moscow

☆ Ukraine investigating attacks on grain ports as potential war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the damage at a grain port facility after a reported attack by Russian military drones in the Odesa region, Ukraine August 2, 2023. Prosecutor General's Office via Telegram/Handout via REUTERSAMSTERDAM, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine's prosecutor general is investigating Russian attacks on its agriculture infrastructure since July as potential war crimes, the office told Reuters on Thursday. "Ukraine is investigating these acts as potential war crimes," it said. Ukrainian authorities are already reviewing more than 97,000 reports of suspected war crimes and have filed charges against 220 suspects in domestic courts. It has described recent attacks on Ukraine's grain infrastructure as retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea used to supply its troops in southern Ukraine.

Persons: general's, RIA, Anthony Deutsch, Alex Richardson, Alison Williams Organizations: General's, REUTERS, Grain Initiative, International Criminal, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Odesa, Ukraine, REUTERS AMSTERDAM, Russia, The Hague, Kherson, Moscow, Kerch, Crimea, Izmail

☆ Russia strikes Ukraine's Danube port, driving up global grain prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Kubrakov, writing on Facebook, said the Danube ports' infrastructure had been "devastated". "Ukrainian grain is indispensable for the world and cannot be replaced by any other country in the coming years," he wrote. "The port of Izmail suffered the most damage, including the terminal and infrastructure of the Danube Shipping Company." Russian state news agency RIA said the port and grain infrastructure hit was housing foreign mercenaries and military hardware. Seaport authority head Yuriy Lytvyn said on Facebook that repair work had already begun and the port infrastructure continued to operate.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, RIA, Oleh Kiper, Yuriy Lytvyn, Nina, PUTIN, Vladimir Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, West, Putin, Erdogan, Ukraine Bridget Brink, Russia's, Farhan Haq, Pavel Polityuk, Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson, Daniel Wallis, Michelle Nichols, Simon Cameron, Moore, Philippa Fletcher, Giles Elgood, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Romania Kyiv, Ukraine's, Russia reimposed, Facebook, Danube Shipping Company, Reuters, REUTERS, United Nations, Kremlin, International, Court, TASS, U.S, Rih, Thomson Locations: Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Izmail, Africa, China, Israel, Moscow, NATO, Russian, Odesa, Turkey, Soviet, Tehran, Kerch, Crimea, Ports, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson, Constanta

☆ Russia's FSB says traces of explosives found on foreign grain ship
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 24 (Reuters) - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday that it had found traces of explosives on a ship travelling from Turkey to the port of Rostov-on-Don in Russia to pick up grain. The FSB said the ship had been docked in the Ukrainian port of Kiliia in May, and that it may have been used to deliver explosives to Ukraine. It said the ship had changed its name while in the Turkish port of Tuzla earlier this month and replaced its crew, which had consisted of 12 Ukrainian nationals. "These circumstances may indicate the possibility of using the foreign civilian ship to deliver explosives to the territory of Ukraine," it said. It came one week after Russia pulled out of an agreement that had enabled Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports, with ships undergoing security inspections.

Persons: Bernadette Baum Organizations: Federal Security Service, Don, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Turkey, Rostov, Russia, Ukrainian, Kiliia, Ukraine, Turkish, Tuzla, Kerch

☆ Russia Attacks Odesa for a Second Night: Ukraine War Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Victoria Kim | Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Several waves of missiles and drones were launched at cities across Ukraine overnight, but the assault was particularly concentrated on infrastructure targets in Odesa, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. “It was a hellish night,” Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration, said in a video message posted on social media. At least 30 cruise missiles and 32 attack drones were fired at targets across the country, primarily from the Black Sea, the air force said. Ukraine said the assault on Odesa, the country’s largest port, was Russia resuming its blockade of Ukrainian grain ships passing through the Black Sea. The Kremlin issued threats on Tuesday against Kyiv attempting to continue shipments of food through the Black Sea.

Persons: ” Serhiy Bratchuk, Sergei Aksyonov, Serhii Popko Organizations: Reuters, Ukraine’s Air Force, United Nations, ”, Kyiv Locations: Odesa ., Reuters Russia, Odesa, Black, Moscow, Ukraine, Port, Russian, Crimean, Russia, Crimea, Kerch, ” Russia

☆ Putin's military supply routes are being blocked by Russian tourists after he encouraged them to go on holiday in Crimea, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian tourists are snarling up military supply routes near Crimea, a report said. The Institute for the Study of War described the Kerch bridge as one of two supply routes for Russian forces in southern Ukraine battling to resist a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian tourists in the resort town of Alushta on the Crimean peninsula on June 18, 2023. Despite this, Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian military vehicles to help ferry tourists to the location, it said. In the wake of Sunday's attack, Putin urged tourists to avoid the Kerch bridge and instead take the route through occupied east Ukraine.

Persons: OLGA MALTSEVA, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Institute for, Getty, Moscow Times, Daily Locations: Crimea, Crimean, Wall, Silicon, Kerch, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Alushta, AFP

☆ Movement of cargo vessels through Kerch Strait suspended by Russia since July 16 - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 18 (Reuters) - The movement of cargo vessels through the Kerch Strait has been suspended by Russian authorities since July 16 following drone attacks on the Crimean port of Sevastopol, two industry sources told Reuters. Russia's defence ministry said its forces had prevented Ukraine from attacking Sevastopol on Sunday, destroying seven aerial and two maritime drones. They stopped it on July 16, around 5 p.m. local time, when there was a (drone) attack on Sevastopol," said one source, who declined to be named. Security in the area also worsened on Monday following an overnight attack on the Crimean Bridge spanning the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kevin Liffey Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kerch, Sevastopol, Russia's, Ukraine, Azov

Explosions thundered above Odesa, Ukraine, as Russia targeted it with missiles and drones before dawn on Tuesday, a day after an apparent Ukrainian strike damaged an important Russian bridge and the Kremlin halted a deal for safe passage of grain ships on the Black Sea. Moscow suggested that the unusual barrage aimed at Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port, was in response to the attack on the strategic Kerch Strait Bridge, which links Russia to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. Kyiv had asserted it was related to the grain deal, which the Kremlin denied. “We are talking about a zone that is very close to the area of armed hostilities,” Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told journalists. Therefore, if something will get formalized without Russia’s participation, these risks need to be considered.”

Persons: ” Dmitri S, ” Organizations: Kremlin Locations: Odesa, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine’s, Kerch, Crimean, Kyiv

☆ Russia-Ukraine War Live Updates: Crimea Bridge Attack Puts Spotlight on Sea Drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Moscow’s accusation that Ukraine used sea drones to attack and significantly damage Russia’s Kerch Strait Bridge to Crimea on Monday has put a spotlight on a weapon that could pose a particularly difficult threat for the Kremlin. He said they would have traveled across the Black Sea at a speed slow enough to minimize their wake and foil radar detection. For Ukraine, with its navy effectively blockaded and outmatched by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the appeal of unmanned surface vessels is clear. Russia accused Ukraine in October of attacking its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the fleet’s base, with seven sea drones as well as aerial drones. On Sunday, Russia’s defense ministry said it had foiled another such attack in Sevastopol, involving two sea drones and aerial drones.

Persons: ”, Sam Bendett, Bendett, Mr Organizations: CNA, The New York Times, Russian, Fleet, Black Locations: Ukraine, Kerch, Crimea, Russian, Virginia, Russia, Azov, Dnipro, Sevastopol

☆ Russian tourists need to cross active war zones in Ukraine to get to their summer vacations in occupied Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian tourists need to cross through occupied Ukraine to get to their summer holidays in Crimea. An expert told Insider that Russian tourism in Crimea is a priority for Putin and the Kremlin. "There's been a huge push on the part of Russian authorities to really sustain and even increase tourism in occupied Crimea for economic reasons, and for an integration of occupied Crimea into the larger Russian system," Hird said. Crimea is a legitimate military target for Kyiv and among the most important territories Ukraine hopes to reclaim in this war. Since the Kerch Bridge's shut down, Russian media released an instruction guide for Russian tourists traveling through occupied Ukrainian territories, Anton Gerashchenko, the advisor to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, tweeted.

Persons: Putin, Ukraine didn't, Karolina Hird, Evans Hanson, Vladimir Putin, There's, " Hird, We've, Hird, Anton Gerashchenko Organizations: Service, Ukrainian Security, CNN, Institute for, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Kerch, Wall, Silicon, Russia, It's, Moscow, Kherson, Melitopol, Donetsk Oblast, Russian

Russia said on Monday that it was pausing its participation in an agreement that had allowed Ukraine to export its grain by sea despite a wartime blockade, upending a deal seen as essential to keeping global food prices stable. Ukraine is a major producer of grain and other foodstuffs, and the United Nations had warned that some countries in the Middle East and Africa faced famine if Kyiv could not export its goods via the Black Sea. A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told journalists on Monday that the agreement was “suspended,” but added that the decision was not connected to the attack hours earlier on the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea. Russian officials blamed Ukraine for the bridge attack, but Kyiv has not taken responsibility. Speaking about the grain agreement, Mr. Peskov said: “As soon as the Russian part is fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the implementation of that deal.”

Persons: Dmitri S, Peskov, ” Organizations: United Nations, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Ukraine, upending, East, Africa, Kerch, Crimea, Kyiv, Russian

☆ Drone boats give Ukraine a cheap, 'asymmetric' edge against Russia and may have just damaged a key bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Waterborne drones are an inexpensive asset, giving Ukraine an "asymmetric" naval edge against Russia. Russia blamed Ukraine for using the drones to attack the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea on Monday. Waterborne drones are also inexpensive and devastating, and there are indications they were used to damage a key Russian bridge into Crimea. An anonymous source from Ukraine's Security Service also confirmed to CNN that Ukraine's naval drones carried out the attack, as did a state official. "Ukraine exploited its [the Kerch Strait Bridge] vulnerability by launching relatively cheap and inexpensive USVs in what turned out to be a successful attack," Bendett said.

Persons: There's, Samuel Bendett, —, Bendett Organizations: Service, Ukraine, Security Service, Ukraine's Security Service, CNN, Center for Naval Analyses, Russia, Kyiv, Getty Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kerch, Crimea, Wall, Silicon, China, AFP, Moscow, Kyiv

☆ What We Know About the Attack on the Crimean Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | More About Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the second time in less than a year, explosives have damaged the bridge that links Russia and Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. The 12-mile-long bridge, which includes a road and rail line running side by side, is a heavily guarded piece of infrastructure that holds major importance for Russia. Initial reports suggested the blasts on Monday were not as severe as in last October, when an explosion caused part of the road bridge to collapse into the water. Before dawn on Monday, the top Russian-installed official in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, announced on the Telegram messaging app that traffic had been stopped on the Kerch Strait Bridge because of an emergency. Russia’s antiterrorism committee later said that the bridge had been hit by two maritime drones in what appeared to be separate explosions.

Persons: Sergei Aksyonov, Russia’s Organizations: Russia Locations: Russia, Crimea, Ukrainian, Moscow, Russian, Kerch

☆ Crimea Bridge: why is it important and what happened to it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A cargo ship sails next to the Crimea bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea, March 14, 2023. The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that explosions were heard on the bridge, with Russian military bloggers reporting two strikes. The bridge is a crucial supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine. In October, the bridge was damaged in a powerful blast, with Russian officials saying the explosion was caused by a truck that blew up while crossing the bridge, killing three people. CRIMEA AND RUSSIA LINKThe 19-km (12-mile) Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait is the only direct link between the transport network of Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in2014.

Persons: Alexey Pavlishak, Sergei Aksyonov, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Putin, Arkady Rotenberg, Lidia Kelly, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, RBC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Crimea, Kerch, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kyiv, CRIMEA, RUSSIA, Moscow, Sevastopol, Ukraine's Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Melbourne

☆ A Bridge Explosion Rocked Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A vital bridge linking the occupied Crimean Peninsula to mainland Russia was attacked early this morning, killing two people and forcing its temporary closure. Rail service over the crossing, known as the Kerch Strait Bridge, resumed soon after the assault, but damage to the car lanes will likely complicate Russia’s efforts to resupply its troops in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials celebrated the assault, which Russia said was carried out by maritime drones, but declined to officially take credit. Initial reports suggested that today’s explosions were far less severe than a similar attack in October. Kremlin officials insisted that the decision was not connected with the attack.

Persons: month’s, Wagner Organizations: Rail Locations: Crimean, Russia, Kerch, Ukraine, Moscow

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